Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians and AOH will present Ciaran Staunton, co-founder and President of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR), in Denver Thursday March 4th where he will speak to Irish-Irish Americans and friends about the mission of ILIR. Staunton”s talked is designed to be educational and not political and invites all to attend who have an interest in Irish in America and future Irish immigration. His talk will take place at 7pm at Delaney”s/Celtic Tavern at 18th and Blake in downtown Denver.According to Staunton, “We have 50,000 undocumented Irish immigrants in the United States, tens of thousands more trying to leave the mass unemployment lines in Ireland. “No Irish Need Apply” hangs at U.S immigration.”Ciaran Staunton is a native of Westport County Mayo. He is the owner of O’Neill’s Bar and Restaurant, one of the most popular hostelries in Manhattan. Ciaran was a co-founder of the Irish Immigration Reform Movement in the late 1980s which lobbied successfully for the Donnelly and Morrison visa schemes.He played a major part in the American role in the peace process and worked closely with the Sinn Fein leadership and Irish American leaders to bring about the Adams visa and the IRA ceasefire. He lives in Queens with his wife Orlaith and son Rory and daughter Kathleen. www.IrishLobbyUSA.orgCiaran Staunton, Irish Lobby for Immigration ReformThursday March 4th @ 7:00PMRSVP to RSVP  or 303-668-8278Delaney”s/Celtic Tavern, 18th and Blake, Downtown Denver303-308-1795

(printed in Dec 09 Celtic Connection newspaper)”For those to whom much has been given, much is expected.” said Kevin McNicholas, who is more apt to give you a humorous one liner or a few words of wisdom than expound on details, especially when the topic is himself. Wife Mary is his opposite compliment, who, as the old Irish saying goes “would talk the teeth out of a saw” and would not hesitate to give you the full story, particularly when giving accolades to her husband.As owners of the very successful Denver based K-M Concessions and sister businesses that provide food, beverage, and visitor services to zoos, aquariums, sports and entertainment venues in Colorado and around the U.S., you”d think that the days would be busy enough for the McNicholas ” But, somehow they are able to give an extraordinary amount of time back to their Community and help people regardless of background or station in life. Mary explained, “Kevin”s company continued to grow and with that we were always taught to give back, so charity work came easy for us.” and added, “There are so many organizations that Kevin and I have worked for or he has served on the board, that we can”t mention without forgetting someone and they are all dear to our hearts.” And heartfelt the McNicholas intentions are– Mary tells a story about her affable straight talking husband who sometimes has more than a twinkle in his eyes. “We did a birthday party for Catholic Charities Foster Kids at the Denver Zoo and one 9 yr. old asked if he could take a piece of cake home because he had never had a party before and wanted to “save this forever!” You should have seen the tears in Kevin”s eyes.” The McNicholas”s have three grown children, oldest son Sean has a Masters in Technology and Business from DU and works for the family company along with sister Shannon who taught history high school in Chicago for two years before returning to Denver. The youngest in the family, Shannon danced with the Wick School of Irish Dancing for 13 years and still won”t miss a beat when called upon for a reel or gig. Independent middle child Brendan Patrick strayed into Communications which he received a degree in from CU. After working in Sports Information at the University he moved on to the Colorado Rockies and presently works for the Colorado Avalanche where he is Director of Media Services/Internet. Mother Mary said that the lesson of giving back has been passed on to her kids, “The children always pitched in with the Community Service. Our son Sean created a excel check out program for me and to this day we still help non profits do their auctions and use three lap tops to quickly check out buyers.” Both Kevin and Mary have an appreciation for family and their rich Irish heritage.Kevin”s dad came to America by himself from Donoughmore Parish, Ballybofey, Donegal, Ireland in the early 1900 to work the mines in Central City. When they dried up, Kevin”s dad Rickard Patrick McNicholas came to Denver where he met his wife Helen Pollack a 5th generation Coloradoan who hailed from the mining town of Silver Plum. In Denver, Kevin”s dad worked for the Denver Treasury Department and his mom was a devoted volunteer at St. Joseph”s Church and allowed herself one high ball a night of Jamison”s Irish Whiskey until her death at the age of 82. Kevin grew up in West Denver where he attended St. Josephs Catholic Schools and can remember fondly celebrating St. Patrick”s Day with his cousins, aunts, uncles from his early years to when he eventually took over the celebration where close to 100 relatives and friends are treated to corned beef, cabbage, with all the trimmings, at the Beef Palace Restaurant at National Western Complex , a facility managed by K-M Concessions.Mary mom”s family came over from County Meath, Ireland in the late 1800s.Great Grandpa Peter Collins was married to Bridget McIntyre who was born in Belfast. Peter was a black smith and made his way to Joliet, Illinois. Peter and Bridget had 8 children who were all musically inclined. One of the children, Mary”s grandma, Katherine Collins Hoffman, was a famous pianist who travelled the world accompanying famous opera singer Madame Ernestine Schumann-Heink.Brother Edward Collins, became a renowned American composer who wrote his music in the Chicago home of Oscar Meyer, his father-in-law as he was married to Frieda Meyer until his death in 1951. It wasn”t until 1989 that Edward”s music was resurrected by the Chicago Symphony, who played songs like “Irish Rhapsody” and” Hibernia” that he wrote during the Great Depression. “A few years ago we were fortunate enough to hear his music played by our Colorado Symphony under the direction of Maestra Marin Alsop” said Mary.Mary”s Grandfather Frank, practiced in the same law firm as Grover Cleveland in New York after he was admitted to the bar in 1877. Frank then went on to help with the Dakota Territory Processing and was elected Mayor of Big Stone City, SD. As that area became more settled, he moved on to St. Paul, Minnesota where he met and married Mary”s grandma Noni Towle.”Grandmother Noni Towle came over from Belfast, Ireland where her father in 1892 started the Log Cabin Syrup and the little word “Towle” you see on the log cabin cans was my grandma”s maiden name.”  Grandpa Frank and Grandma Noni took their trust from the Log Cabin Products and started the Hilex Bleach Company for their seven sons. One of these sons was Mary”s dad, John Deloss Eldredge, who grew up in St. Paul in the Catholic Schools and played hockey at Notre Dame University. Upon his return to St. Paul he met Mary Katherine Collins. After they married he went to work for the Hilex Company with his brothers. After the first six children my dad took the company to Dallas where Mary & 5 more siblings was born and learned her first Irish Step Dancing as there was a big Irish community in Dallas. Attracted to Denver”s climate to help Mary”s dad”s health issues, he moved the family and business to the Mile High city where the Hilex Company flourished until his death in 1970 when the family sold it to Sinclair Company. Mary recalled, “My mother continued raising us 11 children and playing the piano that she had studied at St. Catherine”s College in Minnesota — she could play an outstanding rendition of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Song. My mother Katy died of Alzheimer”s but never missed a St. Patrick”s celebration including the year she died on March 24th.” After getting her degree from Colorado State College ” now University of Northern Colorado,Mary went on to become a Physical Education Teacher and Coach in the Catholic Schools.(Mary continues to coach tennis today ” over the past 40 years Mary been involved in some teaching or coaching of sports, and is she”s credited for starting several sports leagues, including East Denver Soccer.)It was during this time that Mary and Kevin met at the Ninth Hole Restaurant in Cherry Creek when the owner introduced them. After embarrassing Mary by singing “I Want to Be Teacher”s Pet” while walking across the dance floor on his knees, Mary took to the door without saying goodby. Kevin missed on his initial shot, but scored points on the rebound. He didn”t know Mary”s last name nor phone number, but did know she taught at St. Johns. He called the school and told the principal he had a sports order that needed to be cleared up by Mary. Mary fell for it, “When I answered the phone he said he had tickets to “Jesus Christ Superstar” so I wouldn”t turn him down. He did his homework as I was dying to see that musical in Boulder.”Kevin and Mary McNicholas were married in November of 1972 in a chapel in the Abbey at Benedictine College, Kevin”s alma mater. No one has ever been married there as the monks have an understanding with Atchison, KS archdiocese to keep weddings in those churches. But apparently Kevin developed his unassuming charm and people skills by the time he left collegeand was able to talk two Irish monks into sneaking Kevin and Mary into the chapel and married them on the Friday after Thanksgiving when no one was around. “It is still a great joke when we go back there as Kevin has served as the President of the Board and given speeches to the Business School and everyone laughs when they hear the story.”Over the years the McNicholas have been recognized often by their community fordemonstrating character, good values and ethics, and caring and working with others without prejudice. It would be lengthy to list all, but remiss to exclude some of accolades that help define the amazing McNicholas family. A few recognitions included the Humanitarian Award from the American Ireland Fund that Kevin received with co-honoree Sen. George Mitchell, Daniel E. Ritchie “Colorado Ethics in Business Award”, and Induction into the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame.These awards can be traced back to Kevin”s simple and solid business philosophy of integrity exemplified by Kevin in 1997 when he formed K-M Concessions and made a “hand-shake” agreement with then Denver Broncos coach Lou Saban, and Denver Bears GM Jim Burris to sell programs, souvenirs, and provide catering in the press box. This hand-shake agreement lasted over two decades. He has since often reminded his staff, “A deal has got to be good for both parties; if not, you’ll only enter into it once.” and “Make your clients priorities your priorities”Mary has received The Art Reach Volunteer of the Year Award, and both Kevin and Mary were honored with the Distinguished Graduate Award by the National Catholic Education Association; Rocky Mountain MS Humanitarian Award; and last year the whole family received the 2008 Torch of Liberty Award from the Anti Defamation League as a tribute for donating scholarships for many students. The McNicholas schedule would be tiring for must people to look at, much less do. As the business expands around the country and they continue to answer their community”s call with genuine interest and down-home sense of humor. “My favorite, said Mary, “is when Kevin comes and helps us Christmas Carol at Assisted Living Homes and he imitates Miss Piggy”s “Five Golden Rings” 

(printed in Dec 09 Celtic Connection newspaper)Dear Friends,I welcome the opportunity to extend my warmest greetings to members of the Irish Community and to all people of Irish Heritage as we approach the holy season of Christmas. It is a great privilege for me to represent Ireland here in the Western United States, an area with such a uniquely warm and rich relationship with Ireland, and also, an area with such a welcoming Irish Community 2009 has been a difficult year for many of you, and as it draws to a close we can hopefully look forward with optimism to a brighter 2010, with the much hoped for economic upturn, and the possibility of new employment for those who have joined the unemployment lines in the past year. Within our community here, 2009 will also be remembered for the remarkable steadfastness and spirit which the Irish community demonstrated in the support for the less fortunate, the older and more marginalized members of our Irish Family. The generosity of the Irish people towards those in need can only be described as quite remarkable. Our Community also continues to support and advocate on the behalf of the undocumented Irish, and hopefully 2010 will bring about some much needed movement in addressing their plight. As the holiday season approaches our thoughts also turn to family and friends at home in Ireland and elsewhere in the World. We will, of course, also remember our loved ones who are no longer with us, when we come together at family gatherings to celebrate Christmas.On behalf of Vice Consul, Barry O”Brien and all my colleagues at the Irish Consulate, I wish you, one and all, a happy and peaceful Christmas.Beannachta” na Nollag agus na hAthbhliana Best wishes for the Festive SeasonGerry Staunton

Many of you might have seen the awesome band McPeak at the Colorado Irish Festival last summer and can give witness to some of the great Irish music that comes out of Francis McPeake School of Irish Traditional Music in Belfast.The school is currently in crisis and as a result they are creating fundraising projects such the “Mosaic of Support” (see September 09 Celtic Connection at www.CelticConnection.com).Students are now offering a drawing were you could win a new Hyundai caror cash prizes (If non-Northern Ireland resident wins the 1st prize, the cash equivalent will be awarded). They would appreciate your help.Information and ballot with paypal at: http://www.francismcpeake.com/shop.php?category=tickets&&id=4

Gerry Staunton, Consul General of Ireland spent a couple of days in Denver last month meeting members of the Irish community. He wanted to offer himself as a resource who can be called on to assist with matters concerning the Irish community in Colorado and was open to more frequent visits and contact with this region.Staunton”s visit coincides with a national Irish effort, supported by the Irish Government to reach out to members of Ireland”s Diaspora. September 18-20, The Global Irish Economic Forum was held in Farmleigh House, an estate purchased in 1999 by the Irish Government from the Guinness family, north-west of Dublin’s Phoenix Park.The three-day conference brought together influential members of the global Irish community with records of high achievement in business, culture, as well as a number of individuals with a strong business connection to Ireland. Miche”l Martin, TD, Minister for Foreign Affairs said on conference website, www.globalirishforum.ie , “Over the course of the Forum, attendees explored how the Irish, at home and abroad, and those with a strong interest in Ireland, can work together to contribute to our overall efforts at economic renewal and to build new connections between Ireland and our global community.” Although the Forum was closed to general media, many of the attendees have spoken publicly with positive support of the effort and hopes of future benefits. A report on the conference will be given to the Irish Government for its consideration.Gerry Staunton is a native of Westport, Co Mayo, Ireland, he has been a member of the Irish Foreign Service for almost thirty years. He is married to Mary (McDermott) and they have two adult children, Louise and David. He assumed duty as Consul General of Ireland to the Western United States, based in San Francisco, in August of 2008. The Consulate provides assistance to Irish citizens in the Rocky Mountain west to Alaska, Hawaii, Guam & The Marianas. It is a point of help with applying for Irish citizenship, Irish passports and visas, and other services but also a good source of information on many cultural and economic links between Ireland and the United States. www.consulateofirelandsanfrancisco.org 

(from September 09 Celtic Connection)The McPeake Family started playing music, in Ireland, in 1904. The family were at the forefront of the revival of Irish and folk music throughout the 1950″s and 1960″s. Francis McPeake I penned the folk anthem “Will Ye Go Lassie Go” aka “Wild Mountain Thyme” in the early 1950″s. With such a pedigree, the McPeakes were approached in 1977 to host tin whistle lessons for six weeks, to give the youth of Belfast a cultural alternative to the civil unrest that was a part of everyone”s life in Northern Ireland at that time. An amazing music school grew out of those lessons and thirty-two years later, the McPeakes are still teaching traditional music in Belfast. Throughout these 32 years, the McPeakes have inspired and taught to the highest standard in traditional music and produced the largest number of All-Ireland competitors, champions, and tutors and inspired many, many professional musicians. Currently run by Francis McPeake IV , the school unfortunately is under threat due to lack of funds and as such the “Mosaic of Support” has been created. Dancing legend Michael Flatley has lent his support to the campaign to secure the future of the school. Michael said, “I wish The Francis McPeake School of Music the very best of luck. The music of our heritage is a very important part of our lives; it influences us when we”re young and is invaluable as we get older.”Bill Wolsey, entrepreneur and owner of the most public houses in Ireland”s history, said “The McPeakes have taught all classes and creeds for four generations in Belfast. They have taught through good and bad times, through times of trouble and times of peace. To me The McPeakes represent everything that is good about Ireland.”Along with Michael and Bill other internationally acclaimed celebrities including The Pogues, Moya Brennan, Phil Coulter, Ash, Therapy, Brian Kennedy, and Sir James & Lady Galway, have come together to lead in supporting the future of the world renowned Francis McPeake School of Music by purchasing tiles in the “Mosaic of Support”.”The Mosaic Of Support” campaign calls on local, national and international artists, businesses and music lovers to purchase tiles within an original Mosaic art piece. The Mosaic will contain 3000 individual tiles. Each supporter that purchases a tile (or 2!) will have their logo or name put on the tile. Award Winning, London Designer, Jake Tilson is on board to create the art piece, which when completed will be exhibited to the public and on line on the school”s web site. The cost of one tile is $200 and will help to secure the financial future of the school.Francis McPeake IV is also producing a documentary called “Are ya goin” to McPeakes tonight?” the story of how the Francis McPeake School of Music has changed people, culture and Belfast since 1977 and the resulting social impact of it were to close. It will examine the extraordinary influence the school has had on the lives of the students, how Belfast has been changed through their music and highlight the many professional musicians and friends of the school and the professional traditional musicians the school has produced. The documentary will feature the fundraising journey and the creative development and recording of a musical score called the “Jam Piece”, the concept of which is when a artist, individual or business purchases a tile, they will be asked to record and video tape one note of music, 15 seconds long, which will then be orchestrated into a large piece of music ” “The Jam Piece”.”The Jam Piece” will be mixed by Tom Newman, engineer and producer of “Tubular Bells”, the theme from the Exorcist, forming the signature piece for the documentary. The documentary will have a premier screening in Belfast and we will hopefully get distribution for it here in the US.To become a supporter of the Francis McPeake School of Music simply log onto www.francismcpeake.com or call +44 (0)28 9024 4544 for further details. 

By Jennifer Dempsey Last month, 14 members of Northern Ireland’s Circus WAVE became part of the Salida Circus family in Chaffee County, Colorado.For two weeks, Circus WAVE members stayed with host families and joined in a circus schedule that included stiltwalking in the July 4th parade, community potlucks dinners, a sold-out show in downtown Salida, camping, hiking, hot springs and a guest appearance at the Colorado Irish Festival in Denver.”It was the most exhausting and exhilarating two weeks of my life,” said Leslie Garrity, a Salida Circus parent and host mother to two teenage girls from Ballymoney.Circus WAVE stems from the WAVE Trauma Centre, a bereavement and counseling service founded in 1991 that works with all persons in Northern Ireland who have been deeply affected by the Troubles (ethno-political conflict). Circus WAVE was started in 1999 as a personal development and confidence-building tool for the young people of WAVE. ”Being a youth worker for WAVE Trauma Centre, I have gotten to know some amazing kids, but kids with very low self-confidence,” said Darren Gribben, a WAVE Youth leader. “When the Colorado trip came along and working with the Salida Circus and the American kids, the WAVE youth suddenly sprang to life and found confidence they never knew they had. I hope that one day this will lead to bigger challenges. All being well, we will return to Colorado to see the new best friends we have made and show off some new circus tricks.”Salida resident Marsha Sherry watched the show created by Salida Circus and Circus WAVE. “Having fun and expressing creativity are primordial and universal,” she said. “Doing it together creates self-esteem and deep bonds that unite our souls and transcend intellectual concepts. My husband and I were enriched and blessed to witness the circus show.” Former Chaffee County AARP president Jerry Knowles said, “As a former administrator on the Apache reservation, it was so fulfilling to see how creative experiences can help kids grow and become self-confidence and optimistic. It was really a celebration of the human spirit to see these young people rise above the bitterness of their pasts and not stay down because of the throes of life. That made my heart go out to them.” Tricia Magee, director of WAVE Youth said, “This trip has had the most amazing outcomes for every single member of our group and for that I can’t thank the Salida Circus families enough. I am in no doubt that this experience will continue to have an impact for years to come.” Circus WAVE’s trip to Salida was made possible by generous donations from the Celtic Connection, Colorado Irish Festival, DC Friends of Ireland and the Law Offices of Rebecca Adelman. For more information about the WAVE Trauma Centre, go to www.wavetraumacentre.org.uk. For more information about the Salida Circus go to www.salidacircus.com

For about one-half of the 15 Annual Colorado Irish Festivals, Tom Radcliffe has been involved. Each year as voids appeared and needs became apparent Tom stepped up to take on more responsibility. His ability to take on added challenges led him to the position of festival chairman. It”s not that he set out to be the chairman of the festival. Long before he met his lovely wife Tina, he met and dated a charming lady that was involved in the festival. While their relationship lasted only weeks she hooked him on being involved in the festival. Tom saw the annual Irish extravaganza as an opportunity to get back into festivals, something that he enjoyed so much in his hometown of Seattle. Tom”s CIF adventure started as a go-fer in the general services area”putting up fencing, building stages, and the glamour part- arranging the portable toilets. He moved on to designing the festival layout, analyzing the power needs and negotiating with contractors. He eventually became the head of General Services. Having conquered General Services, he will coordinate the food and merchandise vendors at the upcoming festival at Clement Park in Littleton, July 10-12.With having accomplished so much with the festival it is hard to believe that Tom has 2 other careers”information technology manager at Pridemark Paramedic Services and owner of Total Web Design. He does own a TV but can not recall the last time he turned it on.Tom answers the question””Why do you participate in the Festival?” “First of all I love the event and I enjoy seeing it get better each year. I work with a group of friendly committed people that give their best. And finally, it is so rewarding at the end of the weekend to see the thousands of guests smiling and enjoying themselves and knowing that I had a small part in creating their happiness.”Kacey O”Connor, CO-President of the Festival, adds” We would be sunk without Tom. He is extremely well-organized, talented and most importantly calm under pressure which is sometimes in short supply with our group.”If you would like to join Tom and the other wonderful people involved in the Colorado Irish Festival please visit the web site www.coloradoirishfestival.org and click on get involved. You will thoroughly enjoy the experience.

It”s no coincidence that the Common Grounds coffee house logo is similar to the Irish Claddagh ring. The logo was developed by Lisa Rogers and family who opened the first Common Grounds (in Highlands neighborhood), in 1992, as a non-smoking alternative to the Denver bar scene. In tune with her Irish heritage, she incorporated the symbolic”hands of friendship” element of the ring with a welcoming cup of coffee. In the middle of her java inspired entrepreneurial pursuits, Lisa worked to get her MBA from University of Denver, Daniels College of Business, and still found the time to stay connected with her “inner green” through Irish set dancing, volunteer for Celtic Events, and squeaked in a side trip to the “Emerald Isle” that lasted four years.It was there, that her affinity for her favorite color began to move in a different direction “Vertical!Ballymaloe is a family run guest house accommodation, restaurant, and cooking school, in large country house on a working farm in east Cork, Ireland. Lisa lived nearby and was inspired by people whom were big proponents of local produce and farm products. When she returned home to Colorado she missed not having farms around, knowing the farmer or the source of quality locally produced food. Lisa wondered about the possibilities for significant food production in her urban Denver ” “do we even know what our own environment is capable of supporting?” is a question she asked.Her answer came last October as she watched an interview of Will Allen, founder and CEO of Growing Power Inc. (GrowingPower.org) “He said things in those thirty seconds that just hit me ” like, we can grow food in the city, we can grow it vertically, and that we can grow jobs.”Lisa gave a brief example of Vertical/Urban Farming and of multistory greenhouse which have been built around the world from Israel to Dubai. “On the south side of your building, up and down, becomes a greenhouse and the rest of your building you have living space…Another way to go vertical is not to plant on the ground, but instead you plant in greenhouses and you use every inch of space ” you have shelves going up as high as you can reach and you have pots hanging down from the walls so you turn a 2000 square foot space into 5000 square feet of growing area.”In addition to helping providing our city with a long term system of producing safe, quality, and accessible foods, Lisa gave an impressive list of potential environmental and life quality benefits that communities can reap by using urban farming techniques:Turning unused vacant lots into attractive, safe urban farms; Improving storm water collection; Composting the 30% of the waste stream that is organic waste; Cleaning up soil that is contaminated; Reducing air pollution; Reducing urban cooling energy requirements as a result of adding plants to the environment; Increasing biodiversity (Lisa gave one example: “We grow Tilapia fish, recycling the water to feed the plants. By the time the water circulating through all the plants returns to the fish it is clean and bubbly again making a closed system with really healthy plants and fish.”)Lisa and company have set a goal of 500 urban green houses in Denver over next five years, with them developing into community urban agriculture complex with year-round farm markets, cafes serving the produce grown inside, classrooms and business incubator space, an edible garden open to the public, seasonal festivals bringing together food and people. Not shy about rolling up her sleeves to make her vision happen, she has been busy educating people and locating projecting funding and entrepreneurs. ”We”ve been talking with the City, making presentations, educating the City Council members on what Urban Agriculture and we”re hopeful that the new zoning coming out will allow for much Urban Agriculture.” In these harder financial times, the job creation aspect of urban farming is compelling to many, points out Lisa, “One farmer manages 100 acres right now in agriculture, but if you go into urban agriculture it switches 100 farmers for one acre ” and those are serious jobs,” This can be achieved from the reduction of expenses through the absence of chemical fertilizers, packaging and transportation costs. “For every one dollar spent on produce, 65% goes to transportation, pesticides and fertilizer, and 35% goes to packaging.” With Irish passion rising in her voice she continued, “For 40 years the farming industry has had a loss -every year! And it one of our strongest industries ” What a Joke! It”s not, it”s like Detroit telling us auto making is one are strongest industries, it”s not! This is about the business of farming ” this is about taking all those family farms that have sort of disappeared from America and bring them to the city, because guess what, that”s were they live now. And we have to bring the food to us, because right now we are getting our food from between 2 to 6 thousand miles away. So when you hear that it is only point two percent of our food that we are producing in Colorado that we eat ourselves- point 2 percent that”s really dangerous! During the Swine Flu outcry there were people on the radio saying that people should be stocking-up, that if the U.S. closed its borders to Mexico we would have about 2 days of fresh food in reserve.””Go vertical, get in close and save money!”For more info: www.FeedDenver.com 

(Pat McCullough June 09 Celtic Connection)Adding color to Coloradoans lives has been Andrew Toole”s job for almost 15 years.After arriving in America he made his way to Colorado, “I had heard that it was a good environment to live and start a business…At that time, in pre-“Celtic Tiger” Ireland a lot of business prospects were poor.” With a strong work ethic acquired growing up on his families” farm in County Meath, along with a variety of skills that included painting, he founded Denver based painting company, Ireland”s Finest, Inc. in 1995. In time the company became a member of The Painting & Decorating Contractors of America, and earned a Gold Star as member of the Better Business Bureau. “Our reputation has been built on high quality performance and customer satisfaction… we pride ourselves on competitive rates, but at the end of the day it”s all about doing the best job.”A few years back, Andrew came across another business opportunity and in March of 2005 he and business partner Donnie Danesh opened Scruffy Murphy”s (2030 Larimer St) in the Ballpark Neighborhood in Downtown Denver. “It was just another business- it was why not give it a whirl,” explaining his new adventure, “Besides, it”s every Irishmen”s dream to open an Irish Pub in America ,” he added with a wink and a smile. Though Andrew would be first to say that it was a fun project he will also tell you how much hard work that is put into a successful pub. “People might come in and see ya having a pint and a laugh and think that you are on Easy Street, when really they don”t have a clue on how much work and time that you put into a place.” Much of the work and time at Scruffy”s has been taken on by friend (and sometimes fellow teammate on the Denver Gaels hurling team) John Elliott, who recently took over majority ownership. “John is a good spud – he has been doing good work- even managed to get Flogging Molly to do a late night concert at the pub!”Meanwhile, rolling stones gather no moss – Andrew and Donnie opened Ned Kelly”s at 5686 S Sycamore St, in downtown Littleton, a block or so from the new RTD light rail. They took over a historic space which was previously the “Oasis” Bar. It was a small neighborhood gathering spot just off Main Street. That was part of the appeal. “The idea of a small neighborhood pub is what I”m after, like something that you would find in a town or village in Ireland…we added a patio, fireplace, and an authentic Irish feel, so it is still a cozy place.” And the neighborhood supports the new offering, “We are delighted to see the local support and the return of many patrons of the Oasis…They have been here longer than us, and in many ways this pub is as much theirs as ours…we”re just happy to add a little color to their day” Ireland”s Finest 303-512-8777 www.irelandsfinestinc.com [email protected]Scruffy Murphy”s, Denver 303-291-6992 Ned Kelly”s, Littleton 720-283-8717

Take the first step and go to Celtic Tavern Riverside Downs, 2620 W Belleview Ave, Littleton, CO 80123 (303-795-0709) on Saturday May 30th between 9am and Noon. There you will meet the friendly judges and you can give them a sample of what Irish song(s) that you would like to sing. Don”t bring music CD or instrument (that will be later in June), May 30th is application deadline and screening event (no judging, just want to know you”re committed).If you”re the organized type, you can register online now at www.ColoradoIrishFestival.org ” But, make sure that you”re at Celtic Tavern Riverside Downs on Saturday May 30th.Soon after the application/screening event you will be given an option to audition at a metro venue held in June. At your audition you can sing a traditional or contemporary Irish song. You may accompany yourself with and instrument or a CD music track. Bring all of your family and friends because the judges can be swayed by fan noise.Three finalists will be chosen from the auditions. Each of the three finalists will receive a pair of tickets to the new Celtic Women concert at Red Rocks, July 1 or July 2.The Three finalists will each perform on the main stage at the Colorado Irish Festival on Sunday, July 12 where the Festival patrons will help decide who is the best local talent ” and winner of $1,000.00 and Ideal Irish bragging rights! “The whole purpose of the Festival is to build awareness for Irish culture,” says Ciaran Dwyer, co-president of the Festival. “So Idle Irish will be a fun way to do that while showcasing local talent.””Local singers get to perform in front of an audience that may not have heard them previously.” Dwyer noted. “The festival-goers get to check out new talent and vote for their favorites. Who knows, we may even stumble upon the next great Irish ballad singer. At the same time I”m sure we will have a few “Danny Boy” entries who put their name in for a bit of craic.”Contestants must be 18 years of age on or before June, 1st, 2009.To find out more about the Idle Irish competition, including complete rules and registration, visit the Colorado Irish Festival web site: Visit My Site 

(from December 08 Celtic Connection newspaper)For our 3rd installment of “Celtic Airwaves of the Rockies” we travel down to south central Colorado to the town of Westcliffe, home of KWMV 95.9 FM “Voice of the Wet Mountain Valley”, and Jim Remington, the stations host of Celtic and Beyond which airs 7-9PM every Monday. Jim had just returned home from trout fishing on the Grape creek that runs through his ranch where he has lived with his wife Loretta for the past 12 years. As we spoke, he was watching the sunset over the Sangre De Cristos (Spanish for “Blood of Christ”) as it cast the rays of colors across the valley toward the Wet Mountains.Our conversation was to be an interview. But I only had to ask one question.An entertaining hour of stories later, I knew that I had just touched the surface of the wealth of knowledge of a man who has listened, played, and loved Celtic Music for the past 30 years ” and had that I had enough material to fill half the paper!PM “Hi Jim ” tell us about yourself, Celtic music, and your radio show?”Prior to calling Westcliffe home, Jim lived outside Boulder Colorado where he lived since 1987. You could not be involved in the Colorado Celtic scene without seeing Jim at a music session playing the fiddle, or more recently the tin whistle. And you would be hard pressed to find a traditional music concert come to Colorado and not see Jim in the seats. His musical journey began where he grew up in the New England area.It was around 1976-77 that Jim realized that he was in a real need of a vacation.While recording an album in Miami Florida at the same studio that Eric Clapton did “Layla”, the songs chorus echoed his situation, “Let’s make the best of the situation -Before I finally go insane -Please don’t say we’ll never find a way-And tell me all my love’s in vain.”He was in the middle of a contract dispute and disillusioned with his profession of choice. “I was totally sick of the music business. I had been doing a lot of singer-songwriter bar playing in New England area ” the Newport area ” Providence ” all around southern New England and Boston area. Then a friend told me that he was going to Ireland to listen to Irish music and asked me to come along. I was thinking like the Clancy Brothers, because that was my experience with Irish music in 1978. I was in a totally different music genera and never the twain shall meet” They did go to Ireland in the summer of 78 were Jim would come face to face with his destiny. Arriving at a music festival in Wexford they entered a big tent were he saw a band that he had never heard of before, playing music like nothing he had ever known. The conversion happened in seconds. ”Hearing the Bothy Band was truly a musical epiphany – I had studied jazz in school at Berkeley up in Boston so I had a jazz background and also studied classical guitar, to me they had rolled it all into one and added the energy of rock-n-roll.” They spent the following three weeks in Ireland traveling to were the traditional music was, starting in Kerry than up through Clare and Sligo. ”When I came back I was the biggest nut, just so enthusiastic. Got myself a fiddle and Tony DeMarco”s “Trip to Sligo” book and went at it.”Jim sought out the limited Celtic music scene in the New England area and found that Seamus Connoly was doing a session outside of Boston about 1979. That same year he formed the Greencastle Band. “I formed a band with some friends who kind”a got into Irish music the way I had ” we were really the blind leading the blind ” we ended up getting the Planxty and DeDannon records and learning tunes.”Ironically, in time the band opened for DeDannon, Kevin Burke & M”che”l “‘Domhnailland others musical hero”s. “We actually got to be one of the better bands in the area”, as he recalled with joy seeing people getting connected to the music. “I would watch people in the audience, people who really weren”t sure what we were going to do, and when we were right-on people just absolutely took it in, and loved it and wanted to know where to get the music – We sold lots of records at concerts because there were no record stores that carried Celtic music other then in New York and Boston.”The band went on the New England Council for the Arts Touring Program.For eight years they did a lot of demonstration at schools, showing the history and function of the different instruments. In 1986 Greencastle disbanded, having left their legacy with the release of two albums. A retrospect was release just last year by the Arts council of music that the band recorded back in the 80″s when they were one of the very few east coast Irish bands playing.The passion never waned as Jim continued to play and took every opportunity to learn Irish fiddle and guitar styles from master players. He also studied fiddle and tin whistle at the Willy Clancy School of Traditional Music in County Clare, Ireland. ”When I was in Ireland for Willie Week, one of my fiddle teachers told the class, 7 years of listening, 7 years of practicing, 7 years of playing, then you are a musician.”The more Jim learned the more nuances he discovered. “When I started playing I didn”t realize what I was getting into, it”s just one of those forms of music where the more you scratch it the more there is.”He recalled one of the first lessons that he had with famous Irish fiddler Kevin Burke. “He had taught me rolls and ornamentation, and I asked him how do you know when to put them in and his reply was, “the tune will tell you”. That was the most mystifying thing that anyone has told me about music ” at Berkeley and jazz school you learn scales and it”s pretty straight forward, so I just didn”t have a clue. Four or five years later I finally understood it – until you know the tune you don”t know where to put the ornaments, now it is second nature.”After 20 years playing fiddle, Jim put the fiddle away in 1998 because of a wrist injury and inflammation of the carpal tunnel. “I went a couple of years and it was driving me nuts not being able to play and forgetting all of these hundreds of tunes. Finally my wife gave me a penny whistle and I thought “god, the pennywhistle, I don”t know ” you know after playing the fiddle you think of the pennywhistle as a kids instrument. But it has allowed me to get back playing the tunes but doesn”t bother my wrists.”Musicians in the traditional music genre share an accessibility and common philosophy of openness and support that Jim has often appreciated.”You know how they are, once you meet Kevin Burke than you meet Andy Irvine than you meet Donal Lunny – its this inner circle and once you meet a couple of them then you meet an become friends with all of them.” He did not just meet new friends, but mentors who are always willing to help. “It is certainly one of the things that I love about this music – as a general rule, people are so encouraging when you find out that you play.”He gave an example about a time when Liam O”Flynn, famed Planxty piper, learned that Jim was taking up the penny whistle and launched into a dissertation about the different brands of penny whistles. “He wanted to make sure that I was playing a good brand,” Chuckled Jim, “Here is Liam O”Flynn, a true legend in this whole thing, other then Willy Clancy and Seamus Ennis ” Liam O”Flynn, Paddy Keenan, Cillian Vallely and a couple of those guys are at the hierarchy of this thing – and here is Liam making sure that I have a good whistle!”Jim has collected between 750 ” 800 tunes and songs over the years and archived them in a computer base. For the past 1 years the titles have been at the heart of his Celtic and Beyond show. The soul of the show comes from years of hearing the legends play and soaking up their stories and history connected by the music.”When I do my radio show I play a couple of instrumental sets and a couple of vocal sets,than I”ll talk about the music or about the performers and try to provide some insight andpersonal stories, that”s something I can bring in as a player and fan – If I”ve been a fan of any music it”s been Irish music.” His knowledge of the music and the musicians help Jim customize shows for his listeners. He knows first hand that some of the traditional music needs a developed ear. ”The first time I heard uilleann pipes I thought it sounded like a traffic jam ” now I can”t get enough of the piping. So I”m careful to play to the best level of music that I can, but not a level that would turn people of who were not familiar with the music.In Westcliffe you are walking a fine line as to how much that people can listen to of the “pure drop” as they say. There are some savvy listeners that stream and a few locals who know what”s going on with Celtic music, but most of the time it”s people who have just listened to a bluegrass or Cajun show ” so I ease people into it. I find that arrangements, for example Karen Casey, the Bothy Band, Christie Moore, Luka Bloom or even a Emmylou Harris version of Barbara Allen that she did in the movie “The Songcatcher”work well to for new listeners.There is also a big mutual admiration between folk artists and Celtic music artists and Jim likes to make that connection for his listeners. “Andy Irvine, big fascination with Woody Guthrie, so I play Andy Irvine doing Woody Guthrie or play Planxty doing Si Kahn”s Aragon Mills or Norman Blake”s Billy Gray song.”His spectrum of traditional music runs from Planxty and the Bothy Band to the new young bands like Danu, Teada, Beoga. etc. and his show has been getting good feedback from his listening community. “I”ve been playing the two sides of the coin fairly well and the show is popular with good donations and subscriberships.”For the past two years Jim has been involved with the Spanish Peaks Celtic Music Festival held at the end of September 45 minutes away in the Huerfano County towns of La Vita, Walsenburg, Chuchara, and Gardener. The festival was started by Barbara and Jack Yule who moved into the area from Scotland. He said that he bonded instantly to the Yules and is enthusiastic about the festival. “I would love to see their festival develop into the “Willy Week” of the Rocky Mountains. I think their mission and goal is to bring more than just concerts, but also bring in a lot of educational components and opportunities. They”re on the right track and getting good local support. But they need more than the local community, because there”s just not the numbers.”He hopes to see more people, particularly musicians, come from up and down the Rockies as they hear reports about the quality players and enjoyable location.”The trad players can be a little fickle ” if you offer them a world-class playerand it”s not their favorite some just won”t come.” Said with a tone of dismay from a man who travels many miles weekly to Denver to teach music, and who would not hesitate to drive 3 hours to see a high caliber player teach a class or perform live.”I feel blessed that I”ve been exposed to this music – one of the greatest joys in my life, other then catching my 22 inch rainbow trout, is listening to live music- it could be one person or Lunasa going at it ” you just feel fortunate that you have been at the right place at the right time.”As it were he traveled to Ireland a few years ago to attend a Planxty reunion concert.”Flights were only $420 to Dublin ” to see Planxty -how could I pass that up!Pat McCulloughKWMV 95.9fm Celtic and Beyond – Hosted by Jim RemingtonMonday 7:00 to 9:00 PM – Streaming on web at www.kwmv.org Email Jim at [email protected] or leave a message at 719-783-0987.